The virtual explosion of technological advances in microelectronics, digital computers, and software have changed the face of modern society. In fact, these technological advances have become so important and pervasive that some people refer to this explosion as the "Information Revolution." Through telephone lines, networks, satellite communications and the like, information is routinely generated, transmitted, received and processed.
When a group of computers are connected to one another, such as in a client/server network, a management service is typically used to organize and administer information and resources across the network. One type of management service uses a distributed directory, such as NOVELL DIRECTORY SERVICES ("NDS"). Typically implemented over a computer network, a distributed directory is a kind of database that includes a collection of objects that represent a variety of things. For instance, some typical objects represent users, groups, printers, computers, and the like. Usually, the objects in the distributed directory are organized in a hierarchical structure, which is sometimes represented as a tree. Such a structure facilitates a logical organization understandable to human users. Another example of a management service is one organized in domains, such as the SECURITY ACCOUNTS MANAGER ("SAM").
Generally, the management service for a computer system depends upon the underlying operating system on which the computer system is using. For instance, NDS is designed to run on the NETWARE operating system, whereas SAM is designed to run on the WINDOWS NT operating system. In many instances, however, it is desirable to have a network which includes several different computers using different operating systems. Such a network is sometimes referred to as a heterogenous network.
Managing the information and resources in heterogenous networks has traditionally been cumbersome and expensive. This is because different management services tend to be incompatible with one another. In the past, network administrators were required to use the management services in each of the several computer systems, which required duplicated efforts as well as expertise on the multiple management services. In addition, network administration with multiple discrete management services is prone to human errors in translating changes between the various management services. Therefore, there is a need for a centralized management service capable of administering a heterogenous network.